Advice Forum - Technology Help

Find Everything you need for the best Escapist Experience.

CURRENTLY UPDATING FRONT PAGE, WILL BE FINISHED MID OCTOBER 2014.

Introduction.

Lately there's been ALOT of Questions regarding problems with technology from computers and laptops to games, programs etc. What this topic is designed for is a quick way for users to know what to ask about specific problems and where to get help for it. (As well as understanding some of our mumbo-jumbo).

We use them everywhere, weather it's Gaming, Graphics, Music, Documents, iPhone's etc; but what happens when they break? This section is designed to show you what the basic Hardware and Software are used in computers, Building your first rig, Forum coding and all sorts!

Power 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

To view your computers specs Right Click on "My Computer" (or "Computer" for Vista/Win7) and click properties or you can download a program called Speccy Which will scan your computer and give a full list of everything running. If you want to compare your specs to see if you can run a game, go to Can You Run It? and/or check the box of the game to see the minimum specs. (Note: Can You Run It? isn't 100% Accurate, especially with games that have upgraded and have more demand in resources such as Team Fortress 2, World of Warcraft etc)

Measurements and Units.

For those Curious about how it all works.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

Final Notes

If you think anything extra should be added, changed, opinions etc don't hesitate to PM me or post them in the topic. Happy Breaking Fixing Stuff!

Thank Yous

Thanks to Anarchemitis, JesterRaiin, Kabutos, Tubez for Helping and reminding me to update this list!

Update Section

Update 27-Jan-2013: I'm VERY sorry for the lack of maintaining this thread. RL issues have occupied me all 2012, as well as battling Mentl Health issues. I will hopefully Get this all up to date at some point.

Update 29-Jan-2013:Due to Cyclonic weather here, I was unable to do anything. However, I have now started updating the "Forum" section of this guide. Eventually I plan to do a FULL overhull of this guide, to accompany common questions in general of the Advice forum, including Health, Mental awareness, technology, Forum stuff etc.

Update 05-Jun-2013:Mod Edit: Added "the PC Builders and Hardware Group" to the links within the Escapist section - Eleu

Measurements and Units

Hard DrivesHard Drives measure data in amounts called Bytes. A Single byte is such a small amount of information, it probably would not be able to contain this entire sentence. Bytes are notated by prefixes akin to the Metric system.

1 Byte = 1BExample: A short value, like "8942"1 Kilobyte = 1KB (1000B)A nominal but still rather small value, like a portion of this post.1 Megabyte = 1MB (1000KB)One of the most frequently occurring values in modern computation. A typical youtube video is about 5MB for 4 minutes.1 Gigabyte = 1GB (1000GB)Common unit for larger bunches of information. A video game can range from 1 to 8GB.1 Terabyte = 1TB (1000GB)Uncommonly large unit, the size of most hard drives these days.1 Petabyte = 1PB (1000TB)Extremely large unit. All of Facebook could probably fit on a 50 Petabyte Hard drive.1 Exabyte = 1EB (1000PB)Unit used by Computer Theoretical Science. Some say If all particle interactions in the universe that ever occurred were recorded, they would probably be able to fit on a 10 EB hard drive.

RAMRam varies depending upon what sort of programs and games you play, but a nice round figure is a bit above 1GB. RAM memory in amount is similar to your Hard Disc space, except you don't need all that much comparatively. Hard Drives measure how much data in total your computer can store, whereas RAM is how much information your computer can hold in reserve and think about moment-by-moment. Data in RAM is cleared and erased when you turn off your computer.

ProcessorQuick joke, who's the winner of the 7th Gen Console wars? Answer: Intel, they make the chipsets for all three systems.Processors have all sorts of things that can be read about them since to computers they're the Brain, Heart, Kidneys and Stomach all combined. Their main task is calculations. Sheer volume of math. The unit which measures its speed is either the MIPS or the MOPS, which stand for Millions of Instructions/Operations Per Second. A Playstation 3 can do about 10,000MOPS, Intel i7 Processors can do more than 100,000MOPS. Pretty straight forward, the higher the number, the faster your Processor can think.

Graphics CardGraphics cards (or Video Cards) are like tiny computers built to be attached to the inside of Computers, with their own internal dedicated RAM, Processor and Cooling system, except their programming architecture is specifically designed for Graphics and visuals calculation, such as Game Engines.The measurements of a Graphics card are its Clock Rate and Bandwidth.The Clock rate is how fast the graphics processor can flip between a 0 and a 1 at the most basic level of Binary. It's measured in Hertz. Typical modern graphics cards can do several Gigahertz (GHz), or Billions of 'flips' per second.Bandwidth is how quickly information can be shared To and From the card and the motherboard. Quite simply it's measured in Bytes per second. Depending on the quality and year of the card, it can vary from 2 to 100 GB/s.

Power SupplyPower supplys convert safe and normal household AC current (whose Voltage varies depending upon what country you're from) into a Standardized DC current for operation inside your computer. The more Wattage (W for Watts) it can supply, the more hardware it can have installed on it.

One byte is 8 bit and if you are using a windows OS 1Kbyte = 1024Byte, 1Mbyte = 1024Kbyte, 1Gbyte = 1024Mbyte1Terabyte = 1024Gbyte and so on. So when they are selling you a 750Gbyte hdd it will say you only got around 700Gbyte in windows (Since HDD manufacturers are counting 1kb=1000B

Also if the HDD breaks (as in catastrophic hard drive failure), the amount of data lost would be unknown until the damage is examined. The data might still be recoverable although you would need to send it off to a Data recovery specialist...which costs money...and takes time.

Also if the HDD breaks (as in catastrophic hard drive failure), the amount of data lost would be unknown until the damage is examined. The data might still be recoverable although you would need to send it off to a Data recovery specialist...which costs money...and takes time.

This thread is to enlighten the average user who doesn't know what the hell is going on. As such, we should keep explanation on the subjects focused on the 'functional' side, and keep away from the deeper issues and terms.

If they want to know the difference between Volatile and Non-Volatile memory, they can pick up an A+ book.

I was trying to make a screen capture on my laptop via the blue fn button and F11, but I hit ctrl or shift (don't remeber which, think it was the former) and F11.

My screen turned shite before coming back, now my computer is lagish.

The program I was using froze when I went to open something minimized and went back to the program, but hitting just F11 unfreezes it.

I also read that Ctrl and F11 resets the laptop to a factory defualt state, and am now worried as fuck.

If this is true, why do I still have all of my stuff? If it needs to reset first, then is there a way to quickly back up my stuff? will system resore help, or will it just restore me to after I hit the button.

Please help.

Sorry if this post is rude, I was trying to post this on 4chan (my usal choice of tech help due to instant responses), but the site isn't working for me.

I was trying to make a screen capture on my laptop via the blue fn button and F11, but I hit ctrl or shift (don't remeber which, think it was the former) and F11.

My screen turned shite before coming back, now my computer is lagish.

The program I was using froze when I went to open something minimized and went back to the program, but hitting just F11 unfreezes it.

I also read that Ctrl and F11 resets the laptop to a factory defualt state, and am now worried as fuck.

If this is true, why do I still have all of my stuff? If it needs to reset first, then is there a way to quickly back up my stuff? will system resore help, or will it just restore me to after I hit the button.

Please help.

Sorry if this post is rude, I was trying to post this on 4chan (my usal choice of tech help due to instant responses), but the site isn't working for me.

That would be bad design if it resetted to that state by just hitting the button. I think what you mean is ctrl f11 at start up which if you have a dell would put it back to factory defualt.

"Full-screen mode in all modern Internet browsers.Ctrl + F11 as computer is starting to access the hidden recovery partition on many Dell computers.Access the hidden recovery partition on eMachines, Gateway, and Lenovo computers."

I was trying to make a screen capture on my laptop via the blue fn button and F11, but I hit ctrl or shift (don't remeber which, think it was the former) and F11.

My screen turned shite before coming back, now my computer is lagish.

The program I was using froze when I went to open something minimized and went back to the program, but hitting just F11 unfreezes it.

I also read that Ctrl and F11 resets the laptop to a factory defualt state, and am now worried as fuck.

If this is true, why do I still have all of my stuff? If it needs to reset first, then is there a way to quickly back up my stuff? will system resore help, or will it just restore me to after I hit the button.

Please help.

Sorry if this post is rude, I was trying to post this on 4chan (my usal choice of tech help due to instant responses), but the site isn't working for me.

That would be bad design if it resetted to that state by just hitting the button. I think what you mean is ctrl f11 at start up which if you have a dell would put it back to factory defualt.

"Full-screen mode in all modern Internet browsers.Ctrl + F11 as computer is starting to access the hidden recovery partition on many Dell computers.Access the hidden recovery partition on eMachines, Gateway, and Lenovo computers."

Good news, but then why did the computer get laggy and odd if it only works at boot up?

Well couldn't hurt to try again, if you did fuck something up its done so try try again. What i'm thinking is you pressed ctrl f11 and it put your browser or tried putting your browser to full screen or f10 opens up a menu for your current program. Honestly I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, just guessing.

What programs where you running? The program that your using to screen capture and the program you where trying to capture. Also what brand is your computer.

Well couldn't hurt to try again, if you did fuck something up its done so try try again. What i'm thinking is you pressed ctrl f11 and it put your browser or tried putting your browser to full screen or f10 opens up a menu for your current program. Honestly I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, just guessing.

What programs where you running? The program that your using to screen capture and the program you where trying to capture. Also what brand is your computer.

I was playing the minecraft demo, I don't use screencap software, I use the "prnt scrn" button.

Well couldn't hurt to try again, if you did fuck something up its done so try try again. What i'm thinking is you pressed ctrl f11 and it put your browser or tried putting your browser to full screen or f10 opens up a menu for your current program. Honestly I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, just guessing.

What programs where you running? The program that your using to screen capture and the program you where trying to capture. Also what brand is your computer.

I was playing the minecraft demo, I don't use screencap software, I use the "prnt scrn" button.

Seems there are at least a few people having some problems with f11 and minecraft, even if there problems don't mirror your own. So your post saysyou where trying to press fn f11 why if your going to prt sc? I probably just don't have the same set up as you but fn insert is my prt sc for my laptop.

Anyways at least you know your computer isn't going to implode all your data when you shut it down.

Tubez:One byte is 8 bit and if you are using a windows OS 1Kbyte = 1024Byte, 1Mbyte = 1024Kbyte, 1Gbyte = 1024Mbyte1Terabyte = 1024Gbyte and so on. So when they are selling you a 750Gbyte hdd it will say you only got around 700Gbyte in windows (Since HDD manufacturers are counting 1kb=1000B

And you might want to mention SSD (Solid state drive)

well, on hard drives, it usually says that the listed capacity is actual storage, but actual formatted storage will be smaller. a lot of the space is taken with the file system, directory codes, and all the other things that make the stuff work, but are things you never interact with.

and not a reply, just adding my own thing:a bit is a single of or off command, which is how digital electronics work.(advanced electronics theory, will not explain it here. massive books get written on the subject.)

a bit is either a 1 or a 0. 1 is on, 0 is off.bits are commonly written in groups of four.1101 is an examplefour bits is called a nibble.a byte is eight bits. there is usually a space between nibbles when written out.1011 1101 1001 1110the above is 16 bits, four nibbles, and two bytes.binary code is basic machine language, it uses only on and off commands to tell a machine what to do. it is how a machine naturally understands instructions, but is the hardest language to work in.http://www.steveharrell.com/computer/binary.htmthat link is a basic primer to understanding how numbers translate into binary and how binary works.the most basic machine to work with binary code is called a turing machine. basically, it runs calculations by writing binary code of the calculation onto a strip of some erasable material, and changing the code as needed. frequently, they are merely a conceptual idea, but one was actually built.http://hackedgadgets.com/2010/03/27/a-built-turing-machine/http://aturingmachine.com/index.phpa turing machine is a physical analogue of how a CPU actually works, and building one could be of immense help if you want to further understand how a computer works and how binary works in depth.

Actually, Hard Drive storage is measured in 1000. The actually formatting of a hard drive takes almost no space up, unless the system is compensating for bad sectors. Current file systems are quite efficient.

And binary is extremely easy to learn. It's just numbers. Unless your talking about ASCII, in which case, that's pretty easy too.

I also feel the need to mention, once again, that this thread is for basic computer diagnoses and design. Why people feel the need to come in here and prove how 'high speed' they are eludes me.

Actually, Hard Drive storage is measured in 1000. The actually formatting of a hard drive takes almost no space up, unless the system is compensating for bad sectors. Current file systems are quite efficient.

And binary is extremely easy to learn. It's just numbers. Unless your talking about ASCII, in which case, that's pretty easy too.

I also feel the need to mention, once again, that this thread is for basic computer diagnoses and design. Why people feel the need to come in here and prove how 'high speed' they are eludes me.

okay, well i do not know how efficient modern file systems are. i do know my hard drive is several Gb smaller than it said on the box, and the drive says that actual formatted capacity will be less.the basics of binary is easy-it is ones and zeros. i'm talking about actual communication in binary-machine language. that is very hard.

binary is a basic part of a computer. it is the most basic essence of how a computer understands things and functions. high speed? i'm actually rather insulted. then again, if I cited my sources of wikipedia and howstuffworks and google, then i would be being more honest.seriously, i barely understand most of this.

I recently got infected with a trojan specifically a trojan.gen.2, only problem is that symatec endpoint protection will not remove it from my computer. i run a HP elitebook 8440p on windows 7 professional recently i have tried to sync my ipod, which now can't sync to itunes it says an error has occurred (13014). So my question is two fold. 1 can a trojan cause this problem with itunes and 2 how can i remove the trojan.

Also ps im not very good with computer programs I only ever use my laptop for internet and work.

Rushin:I recently got infected with a trojan specifically a trojan.gen.2, only problem is that symatec endpoint protection will not remove it from my computer. i run a HP elitebook 8440p on windows 7 professional recently i have tried to sync my ipod, which now can't sync to itunes it says an error has occurred (13014). So my question is two fold. 1 can a trojan cause this problem with itunes and 2 how can i remove the trojan.

Also ps im not very good with computer programs I only ever use my laptop for internet and work.

Its definitely not the trojan. And how did it fail? Did you do a scan the computer, it showed up as having an error, then asked how you wanted to fix it and thats where it failed? If so i'd say try and change the fix column to either quarantine or remove, which ever one you haven't tried. I don't know why your paid for software wouldn't be able to fix it.

Your itunes problem might just be because of a recent update. Turn off itunes disconnect your ipod restart your computer and try again.

There is that but maybe you made a restore point at some point using symantec and symantec is picking up the trojan there. I'm kind of grasping at straws here, if your browser isn't redirecting, your computer isn't getting slower, and other crazy malware stuff isn't happening it may not even be an active malware your dectecting. I've never use symantec so I don't know what screen your looking at.

Try updating the one you got and you think the trojan is drastically affecting you try some free programs like ad aware or spybot. If you do get another program make sure to disable everything involved with your current paid for software.

From there you can change the font for all of the OSes WIMPs. I believe the defualt font is "Segoe UI"

To take a 'picture' of it, just press the "Prt Scr" button on the upper right hand of the key board next to the Scroll lock button then just go into paint or [insert graphical editing software] and save then finally just go to image shack upload it, paste the code into your post and then just post it here on the forums, preferably in a spoiler tag.

If this doesn't work then you're going to have to going into the Registry,

From there you can change the font for all of the OSes WIMPs. I believe the defualt font is "Segoe UI"

To take a 'picture' of it, just press the "Prt Scr" button on the upper right hand of the key board next to the Scroll lock button then just go into paint or [insert graphical editing software] and save then finally just go to image shack upload it, paste the code into your post and then just post it here on the forums, preferably in a spoiler tag.

If this doesn't work then you're going to have to going into the Registry,

Hallo, tech-folks. I am in need of counsel.I'm thinking of buying a laptop for college, but I want it to be decent enough for gaming. Not current-generation sort of stuff, but I'd like to be able to at least run Minecraft at maximum draw-distance with a decent framerate, and play things like Psychonauts and maybe Portal/Portal 2 on low settings.

Would these be beefy enough for my purposes? RAM can always be bought, of course. Is the i3 considerably better than the dual-core on the first one?As you can probably tell, I'm not very good at this sort of thing. Oh, I'll probably be dual-booting a Linux distro on this thing, so if any of you know about compatibility issues with the hardware, that would be a nice heads-up.

I'm trying to make a gif into my avatar, but when I paste the image URL it says that the image is too big, so I resize it, I have the resized image saved, but it doesn't animate. Could I get some help?